Diseazd

Right Steve.....that's what amazed me......barely a 1/4 turn of tightening.....it sounded like a bad u joint. I would never have thunk it! Good advice on big red.

Just fixed another mystery clunk. My 72 (green) just developed the dreaded clunk. No problem, I've got a R/T mount so it's got to be the half shaft u joints. I pulled 'em off and had them replaced. Took her for a drive looking for a nice quiet ride......not. The clunk was still there. I put it back on the lift and wrenched the driveshaft around......must be in the drive shaft. While it was up on the lift, I checked for loose bolts. The mustache bar (two vertical bolts) were tight as a tick as well as the big control arm bolts. The two bolts from the back of the diff were pretty tight too, I could only get a quarter of a turn. I decided to drive her again before pulling the drive shaft to replace those u joints.......clunk is non existent. A tiny back off of the two diff bolts had caused a good clunk. Just a heads up to anyone who is blaming their clunk on diff, driveshaft or half shafts. Check torque on all major nuts in the rear......could save time and money.

Jeff.....All joking aside.....the people are what makes the shows great. ZCON is an awesome collection of the very, very best of Z people, and no matter how you spin it, the prettiest car wins......."don't hate them cause they're beautiful"! The closest thing to what it looked like from the factory or the one with the best paint, interior and engine bays win (as it should be). You're car looked superb, but the thing I enjoyed most of the whole Savannah experience was the people. Meeting members of this forum and all the other folks that love their Z's so much is what it's really all about. "Mad Mike", Bob and Carol Sharp, Carl Beck, Jim Frederick and Sheila and yes, Jeff and Sue Mader.... all the other great Z people were what I brought back from Savannah......it's what I remember. And if you look at the pistures I took at ZCON, it's the people that I tried to capture......Vince, SteveJ, Will, Eiji, Vince etc. etc. etc.. is what I tried to capture. And yes after I lost to your awesome Z, and finished crying (cause there is no one's butt I wanted to kick more than yours), I came to the realization that the real trophy was the fantastic people I had met. If you've never attended a ZCON, you really need to make an effort to go. Just don't worry about the damned trophy.....because you know that your car is the best of show in your mind, and that's all that really counts!

Trophy or no trophy my butt.....you win first place at ZCON two years in a row.......no wonder you don't worry about it Mader.....and with legs like yours, you need a nice car to get a girl like Sue! Just remember.....in Savanah, I finished 2nd and you finished next to last!

Two Kangaroo steaks for you OZ for giving me the idea! Hope things are going good over there. Regards......Guy

I've got 2 stock exhaust systems that are almost like new.....one with 36,000 original miles. I tried to get them to MikeB, but they're too big to ship. $125.00 each to anyone that can pick them up......if that helps. Each has all parts from down pipe to tip. Guy

I just wish all the motor heads on the forum lived closer together......L series motors are what I love to mess with. Would love to be closer to all you guys. Eiji and PJOE are the only real motor guys around here and Eiji lives 2 hours away. Now that guy really builds a beautiful motor and he really appreciates the L series Datsun engine.

Extremely funny Jeff......believe me......this is it. It's getting hard to keep them all driven, oil changes, tune ups, washing ,R/T mounts etc. etc. They're like your kids.....you wouldn't trade any of them, but if you had to raise another one, you'd shoot yourself. Yellow is a nice color.

Thanks Jeff......I'll post dyno numbers soon. Hope you and the family are doing well.

Update.......Installed the L28/L24 combo motor in the new 72 Z. I put 350 miles on her and didn't really push her till I put the new 2 1/2 inch MSA Premium exhaust system on. WOW.......What a wonderful motor.....she pulls so quickly, smoothly and torquey to 7,000 rpm that you need to be ready to shift (it sneaks up on you so fast). This engine is so much better than I thought it would be. It's just is so silky smooth up the rpm band and down the rpm band (downshifts). The L28 motors (with L28 cranks) are pretty much done at 6500. Not this motor.....It is a joy to drive and as OZ mentioned, it must have the perfect bore to stroke ratio, cause it's truly amazing! I would recommend it to any Zed Head!

Mikerosa.........When you pull the engine, the tranny will be hanging on it's rubber mount. You can put a floor jack under it, or hang it by a piece of rope or wire to the hood latch body to remove the stress on the mount.

OJ........You are definitely something else! I love your enthusiasm.......you really are a Z phanatic. Good job on the trophies and the girl.

.......the finishing touch.....the spook.

Just did it on my 72. Also did it on my 73. It's really not hard at all. Here's a thread from my 73 conversion. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread40158.html You'll need to remove the two pedals from the manual car and install them in the auto car. No need to remove the pedal box, your auto car has the same pedal box as the manual car. You need a brake m/c.....the hole and studs are already in your auto car. Also get the M/C to slave cylinder metal line from the donor car. Obviously, you need a tranny and slave cylinder. Splice the two wires together as in my thread (cut off switch for park). Oh, also, you'll need to put a brass bushing in the center of the rear crank to accommodate the input shaft of the tranny. You'll also need the rubber inner and outter boots and the leather boot and ring for the shifter.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread34448.html Kimi.....This thread may help.....I used the P79, which is the same as the P90 with liners. Sounds to me like what you're thinking about building. Believe me......it's an awesome combination. Good Luck......Guy

Zed Head.....Am I missing something? Shaving the head doesn't put the pistons any closer to the head.....you're still .040 inches away (stock head gasket thickness). Decking the block puts your pistons closer to the head (by the amount the piston comes above the deck).

How about some pics Jerry?

Amazing......that particular vehicle is the most rust prone vehicle ever made! I had a 77 King Cab that the bed side walls actually rusted off! This truck must have really been babied......as in not even washed without totally drying it off.

I just googled stock gasket thickness for Datsun L series. The answer given was they come in two sizes.....1.5 mm ( .060 inches )and 1.25 mm ( .050 inches ), so you should be able to deck the block .010 to .020 inches and still get a cheap gasket.

Dave Rebello is the one that threw out the .040 inch number......seems like a lot to me too, but I really can't argue too much with him. I think a down shift at high rpm could stretch the rods somewhat......no idea how much. Maybe John Coffey could clarify or give his clearance preferences. Does anyone know what the stock gasket compressed thickness is?

Thanks Alex.....I forgot to mention that you'll need thicker lash pads......failure to geometry the rockers (center the wipe pattern) will destroy your cam and valve train.

Good advice Lazeum.......if the engine block is decked, the pistons will come out of the cylinders. The way I've heard it, you need .040 inches ( 1 mm ) clearance. Does anyone know the compressed height of the stock Nissan gasket. Also, how much is a safe shave for a stock P79 piston ( you could shave the top of the piston versus a thicker head gasket ). If there is no decking, you have no problem.

Put 50 miles on her today......runs beautiful! Millie (my German Short Hair Pointer approves). Next, I'll install the Spook. I've got the new Denver bumpers, but I'm going to run her without bumpers for a while.

The metal to metal compatibility of the Datsun cams was excellent. The Z Doctor in Roanoke, Virginia is an expert on Z engines and firmly believes you should regrind your stock cam to maintain that durable relationship. He recommends Isky. I've used them on all 5 of my motor builds. They all perform perfectly. With a new cam, you'll want to install new or remanufactured rockers and new Isky valve springs with a lift over .460 inches. The cam is what makes the combo you refer to work so well.....go with Stage III IMO.

Don't be fooled .........measure the fingers where the throw out bearing contacts, not the housing. The fingers on the clutch on the right come out. Measure each fingers to the floor, not the housing. It's a PITA to pull it again so measure twice and cut once. I just installed an Exedy 240Z clutch this weekend.....I used the collar on the left. Works like a dream!